iMaker (万像文化) has completed A2 round financing of CNY tens of millions.
Founded in 2019, iMaker is the first to create AIGC interactive experience products based on the needs of various terminal vertical users. With mature underlying interactive technology support and the deep accumulation of its core team in content, market, and operations, it continuously explores the commercialization of virtual content by creating rich products and operational ecology through efficient distribution and full-chain landing capabilities.
According to data on iMaker's official website, the company has formed strategic partnerships with iQIyI (爱奇艺), NBCUniversal (环球品牌发展), and Porsche. iMaker was awarded the "Most Valuable Investment Brand" and "Best Virtual Human Full-Stack Operations and Maintenance Service Provider" in 2022.
Among the many partnerships, iMaker's cooperation with Porsche is particularly noteworthy. Since 2016, Porsche has successfully entered the field of startups and has direct interests in about 60 emerging companies, with a particular focus on digital assets and the virtual human field. Michael Kirsch, President and CEO of Porsche China, stated that cars are the carriers that connect the virtual and real worlds, and the metaverse is still a high-potential experimental field. He firmly believes that iMaker will become the most powerful leading enterprise in the metaverse era.
After reviewing the iMedia Consultancy report, EqualOcean found that in 2022, the virtual human industry in China drove the market scale and core market scale to be CNY 186.61 billion and CNY 12.08 billion, respectively, and it is expected to reach CNY 640.27 billion and CNY billion by 2025, showing a strong growth trend. The driving factors of the virtual human market are divided into three aspects: economic, social, and technological. In terms of the economy, the digital cultural industries gradually becoming a new growth point for the development of the Chinese cultural industry. In terms of society, the popularity of the concept of the metaverse and the rise of the Z generation have attracted more capital into the virtual human industry. As for technology, virtual anchors, as a technology collective, have now become relatively mature under the iteration of AI capabilities.
Domestic companies actively laying out the virtual human field include Tencent (腾讯), Baidu (百度), Sogou (搜狗), SenseTime (商汤科技), and iFLYTEK (科大讯飞). Internationally, companies such as NVIDIA, Epic Games, ObEN in the United States, EPSON in Japan, and Soul Machines in New Zealand have also performed well.
This round of financing for iMaker was continuously added by its existing shareholder Porsche, with the participation of multiple strategic investment institutions. Cec Capital (易凯资本) served as iMaker's exclusive financial advisor in this transaction.
At this critical stage, the ESG2023 "the US Sub-Forum" will be held in Shenzhen on June 2, 2023. EqualOcean will invite the representatives of academic institutions and investment institutions, as well as company leaders, from the International Studies Institute of Fudan University, Sun Yat-sen University, Jinan University School of International Relations, Gaorong Capital, Vision Plus Capital, FreeS Fund, ZWC Partners, Source Code Capital, Niu Technologies, TikTok, SHEIN, NEIWAI, miHoYo, Tuya, MINISO, Dreame, Ecovacs, WYBOTICS, Lifen, and UniUni.EqualOcean analysts will also release the US Report 2023 at the US Sub-Forum, summarizing business opportunities and best practices for expanding into the US market in the new stage.
Click the EqualOcean全球化峰会（ESG 2023）出海美国论坛 to apply and scan the QR code below to learn more about ESG2023.
